Moong Dal Halwa (vegan)
Moong Dal Halwa (vegan)
Moong Dal Halwa is a delicious and festive sweet from North India. It is a rich, creamy pudding-like dessert. I like Moong Dal Halwa, but it is a long process and for me stirring the halwa was becoming difficult. While trying to make the process easy I also decided to make it vegan. I was happily surprised by the result. This is a must to try the recipe. This recipe will serve 4.
Ingredients
- ½ cup split yellow Moong dal washed
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil is my preferred oil
- ½ cup sugar
- 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
- few strands saffron optional
- 2 ½ cups water
For Garnishing
- 2 tsp sliced almonds
Instructions
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Clean the moong dal rubbing with a moist towel.
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Boil water and sugar in a pan over medium heat, for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cardamom powder and saffron set aside.
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In a heavy bottom frying pan, roast moong dal over medium-low heat. Keep stir-frying till it’s light brown in color and becomes aromatic. Make sure to cook on low heat otherwise dal will not be toasted inside. This will take about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature.
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Once dal comes to room temperature, grind it to a powder lightly grainy.
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In a heavy bottom frying pan, add oil and roasted moong dal powder, mix it well, and again roast over medium low heat for about 3 minutes. Dal will become dark in brown. Notes: After adding the syrup color will become a little lighter.
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Add syrup to the dal, a little at a time. The syrup will splatter as you are adding syrup, keep stirring and mix it well, cook for 2-3 minutes. Halwa should be the texture of soft sticky dough.
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Serve the halwa warm.
Notes
If you are not vegan and want to use clarified butter (ghee), replace the oil with 1/3 cup of ghee rest of the recipe remains the same. I have tried many different oils and vegan butter, but I prefer grape seed oil. It has become a preferred oil to make any vegan dessert. For making the halwa, traditional way is a long process and requires lots of work from the hands. For me, stirring the halwa was becoming difficult. You must soak dal for a few hours and grind it to a smooth paste. Then, cook over low heat with ghee, stirring continuously for about 40 minutes. The whole process not including soaking dal takes about one hour. If you enjoy Indian sweets and you are on the dairy-free diet you should also try:
Originally posted 2022-01-21 00:43:00.
